Umkehr der Sinneshierarchie

This volume examines the reasons for Herder's foregrounding of the sense of touch. As such it fills in a significant research gap. Changes in the theory of perception since the early modern age are the constitutive factor involved. They led both to an upending of the hierarchy of the senses and to a leveling of the distinctions between sensus communis, body, sense of touch, and emotion. This casts light on inconsistencies in Herder's conception of the sense of touch that cannot be explained by looking at his works or his systematic thinking alone. The upending of the hierarchy of the senses is of cardinal significance for aesthetics and hermeneutics, as is demonstrated here with reference to the discussion on the definition of human beauty since the 16th century and in the literature around 1800.